Towel winder



Feb. 28, 1967 B. L. DAVIS 3,306,544

TOWEL WINDER Filed June 28, 1965 BUELL L. DAVIS INVENTOR.

Maw

AGENT United States Patent Ofifice 3,306,544 Patented Feb. 28, 1967 3,306,544 TOWEL WINDER Buell L. Davis, Oklahoma City, Okla, assignor to Rollett Mfg, Inc., Oklahoma City, Okla. Filed June 28, 1965. Ser. No. 467,536 Claims. (Cl. 242-55) The present invention relates to winding sheet material and more particularly to winding or rolling an elongated hand towel.

Certain hand towel dispensers are equipped with an elongated fabric rolled hand towel which presents a portion of the towel for use and rewinds the soiled portion around a roller. When such hand towels are laundered and ironed it is desirable that some means be provided for rewindi-ng or rolling the cleaned towel as the towel is progressively moves through a mangle.

It is, therefore, the principal object of this invention to provide a means for progressively winding an elongated fabric hand towel around a roller as the hand towel progressively moves through mangle.

-Another object is to provide a towel winding device which maintains the towel centered on a core or roller.

Still another object is to provide a towel winder which is driven by a friction shaft connected to a driven shaft wherein the friction shaft is provided with clutch means to prevent damage to the hand towel during the winding operation.

Still another object is to provide a device of this class whereby one operator can simultaneously wind a plurality of towels.

A still further object is to provide a towel winder which requires only the starting of the winding operation and the removal of the towel after being wound.

The present invention accomplishes these and other objects by mounting a friction driving sleeve within a frame and connecting the sleeve to a driven shaft.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction withthe accompanying single sheet of drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top view of the device in operative position:

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 3 is an end view of FIG. 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view of the driving sleeve, per se; and,

FIGURE 5 is an end view of FIG. 4.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in those figures of the drawings in which they occur.

In the drawings:

The reference numeral indicates the device, as a whole, comprising a frame 12 and a roller 14. The frame 12 is formed by a pair of substantially rectangular metal plates 16 and 18 held in vertical spaced-apart parallel relation by spacer rods 17. Each plate includes an inturned flange or leg 26 at their depending edge for connection with a supporting surface, indicated at 22. The spacing between the plates is preferably greater than the transverse width of a towel to be wound or coiled. The roller 14 comprises a shaft 24 which extends between and is journaled at its respective end portions by the frame plates 16 and 18 adjacent their lowermost central edge portion. The respective ends of the shaft 24, eXtending outward from a point adjacent the inner surface of each plate, are circular and that portion of the shaft between the plates 16 and 18 is polygonal, such as square, for the reasons which will be readily apparent.

A thin end member or lock disk 26, having a circular bore is positioned on and is freely rotatable around the circular end portion of the shaft 24, adjacent the inner surface of the respective plates 16 and 18. The lock disks 26 are each provided with a plurality of lugs 28 which project radially outwardly from its periphery (FIG. 5). A sleeve 30 surrounds the shaft 24 and lock disks 26 between the plates 16 and 18 and is provided at its respective ends with notches or recesses 32 for cooperatively nesting the lugs 28. Thus, the lock disks 26 are locked with and maintain the sleeve 30 in coaxial spaced relation with respect to the shaft 24. A relatively thin washer-like brake disk 34, having opposing high friction inducing surfaces and having a square bore or opening 36, surrounds the similarly shaped respective end portion of the shaft 24. The brake disks 34 are flatly positioned adjacent the inner surface of the respective lock disk 26. A similarly shaped washer 38 surrounds the shaft 24 and is positioned adjacent the inwardly disposed surface of the respective brake disk 34. A helical expansion spring 40 is interposed between the washers 38 around the shaft 24. Thus, the spring 40, washer 38 and brake disk 34 bearing against the lock disk 26, forms a friction clutch at each end of the sleeve 30 to drive the latter while permitting rotation of the shaft 24 independently of the sleeve 30 under certain conditions for the reasons more fully described hereinbelow.

One end of the shaft 24 is connected with a gear 42 which meshes with a driving gear 44 in turn driven by a shaft 46. The ratio of the gears 42 and 44 is selected to obtain the desired rate of revolution of the shaft 24.

The periphery of the sleeve 30 is wound with a strip or strips of a rough surfaced material, such as emery cloth 50, to provide a friction driving surface on the periphery of the sleeve 30.

As shown in the drawings, the emery cloth 50 is preferably. wound in opposing helical directions around the sleeve 30 from its respective ends and terminates medially its ends.

As many of the devices 10 as desired for a particular installation are connected by similar gears to the common drive shaft 46. Each of the end or frame plates 16 and 18 are provided with a vertical slot or groove 52 extending from its upper free edge toward the shaft 24 and terminating parallel with respect to the horizontal plane defined by the upper edge of the sleeve 30.

An idling or winding roller 54 extends between and is jou'rnaled at its respective end portions by the slots 52.

OPERATION In operation the device is installed as described hereinabove and one end of an elongated hand towel, indicated by the dotted lines 56 (FIG. 1), is manually wrapped flatly around the roller 54, one or two turns, and is released so that the roller 54 maintains contact between the wrapped end portion of the towel and the friction driving surface 50 on the sleeve 30. Thereafter the sleeve 30, driven by the shafts 24 and 46 through the gears 42 and 44, progressively winds the towel 56 on the roller. As the diameter of the convolutions of the towel increase, the end portions of the roller 54 are progressively moved upwardly within the respective slot 52. After the towel is completely wound on the roller, the roller and towel are manually removed by lifting the roller out of the slots and, since the towel is not too tightly wound on the roller 54, the latter is removed from the towel, by movement in an axial direction for use in wind ing another towel. If at any time during the towel winding operation the towel is not fed through the mangle at the rate of travel of the drive shaft 46 the tension on the towel overcomes the resistance of the friction or brake disks 34 forming a part of the clutches and permits the shaft 24 to be continuously rotated while the sleeve 30 does not revolve. The brake disks 34 will again continue rotation of the sleeve 30 in a towel winding direction when the movement of the towel is again synchronized with the rotation of the drive shaft 46.

Obviously the invention is susceptible to some change or alteration without defeating its practicability, and I therefore do not wish to be confined to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings and described herein, further than I am limited by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A towel winder, comprising: a frame; a driven shaft journaled by said frame; a sleeve surrounding said driven shaft within said frame; a friction clutch connecting said sleeve to said driven shaft, said clutch comprising a lock disk rotatably surrounding said driven shaft within and secured to said sleeve, a brake disk secured to said driven shaft adjacent said lock disk, and a spring normally urging said brake disk toward driving contact with said lock disk for rotating said sleeve with said driven shaft; and an idling roller journaled by said frame in contact with said sleeve.

2. In combination with a mangle having a drive shaft, a pair of spaced-apart parallel plates mounted at one side of said mangle; a driven shaft extending between and journaled by said plates; a pair of gears driveably connecting said driven shaft to said drive shaft; a cylindrical sleeve surrounding said driven shaft between said plates; emery cloth wound around said sleeve to form a friction roller; a friction clutch connecting said sleeve to said driven shaft; and an idling roller journ-aled by said plates in contact with said friction roller.

3. Structure as specified in claim 2 in which said clutch comprises a lock disk rotatably surrounding said driven shaft within and secured to said sleeve, a brake disk secured to said driven shaft adjacent said lock disk, and a spring normally urging said brake disk toward driving contact with said lock disk for rotating said sleeve with said driven shaft.

4. In combination with a mangle having a drive shaft,

a pair of spaced-apart parallel plates mounted at one side of said mangle; a driven shaft extending between and journaled by said plates; a pair of gears driveably connecting said driven shaft to said drive shaft; a cylindrical sleeve surrounding said driven shaft between said plates; emery cloth wound around said sleeve to form a friction roller; a friction clutch connecting said sleeve to said driven shaft, said clutch comprising a lock disk rotatably surrounding said driven shaft at one end of said sleeve; a friction disk surrounding and driven by said driven shaft adjacent said lock disk; and a spring bearing against said friction disk.

5. In combination with a mangle having a drive shaft, a pair of spaced-apart parallel plates mounted at one side of said mangle; a driven shaft extending between and journaled by said plates; a pair of gears driveably connecting said driven shaft to said drive shaft; a cylindrical sleeve surrounding said driven shaft between said plates; emery cloth wound around said sleeve to form a friction roller; a friction clutch connecting each end portion of said sleeve to said driven shaft, each said clutch comprising a look disk secured to the end portion of said sleeve and rotatably surrounding said driven shaft at one end; a friction disk surrounding and driven by said driven shaft adjacent said lock disk; and a spring surrounding said drive shaft within said sleeve and bearing against said friction disk.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,503,858 8/1924 Steiner 24262 3,081,047 3/1963 Kilburg 242- FRANK J. COHEN, Primary Examiner.

L. D. CHRISTIAN, Examiner. 

1. A TOWEL WINDER, COMPRISING: A FRAME; A DRIVEN SHAFT JOURNALED BY SAID FRAME; A SLEEVE SURROUNDING SAID DRIVEN SHAFT WITHIN SAID FRAME; A FRICTION CLUTCH CONNECTING SAID SLEEVE TO SAID DRIVEN SHAFT, SAID CLUTCH COMPRISING A LOCK DISK ROTATABLY SURROUNDING SAID DRIVEN SHAFT WITHIN AND SECURED TO SAID SLEEVE, A BRAKE DISK SECURED TO SAID DRIVEN SHAFT ADJACENT SAID LOCK DISK, AND A SPRING NORMALLY URGING SAID BRAKE DISK TOWARD DRIVING CONTACT WITH SAID LOCK DISK FOR ROTATING SAID SLEEVE WITH SAID DRIVEN SHAFT; AND AN IDLING ROLLER JOURNALED BY SAID FRAME IN CONTACT WITH SAID SLEEVE. 